Understanding the Dental Consultation through Interactional Microanalysis: A Multivariate Approach

Abstract

Objectives: This qualitative study aims to identify communication patterns through microanalysis of a routine dental consultation. Methods: The first dental consultations of 12 consenting dentists with 70 consenting adult patients from Reception & Primary Care (RPC) in the Prince Philip Dental Hospital (PPDH) were recorded. Recordings were transcribed and sequential analysis conducted to identify internal structures. Conversation Analysis (CA), a micro-analytic approach, was employed to analyse turn distribution patterns, specifically turn signals between stages. The average duration of each identified stage in the initial consultation was also calculated and analysed.

Results: A consistent structure of specific stages was identified during each dentist-patient consultation. This generally agreed with findings by Theaker et al. (2000); however, a routine consultation in this screening context differed in that it consisted of two distinct parts, divided by the oral radiology examination. Turn signal patterns indicated a total of six stages in these initial dental consultations, namely Part A: Opening Stage, Oral Problem Presentation Stage, Medical History Taking Stage, Oral Examination Stage, Closing Stage; and Part B Explanation Stage. The average duration of dentist-patient contact was approximately 12.5 minutes. The majority of time was spent on the Oral Examination Stage (approx. 4.5 minutes). Results showed that dentists on average spent less than 2 minutes on the patient’s Oral Problem Presentation Stageand on average only approximately 3 minutes in explaining the oral condition to the patient.

Conclusions: This study’s results indicated that specific communication patterns were identifiable in a routine, initial dental consultation and that dentists tend to spend more time explaining than listening.